How Cloud computing is Affecting Our Everyday Lives

When it comes to new disruptive technologies that are taking the world by storm, one phrase has been the subject of more controversy than any other: cloud computing. Cloud technology has driven endless debates, led to many arguments in IT departments and left many in the tech industry deeply bewildered. However, there is growing interests by both small enterprises and big corporation on this technology. More and more companies are no moving their elements into the cloud. In layman’s terms, the cloud is a network of thousands of virtual computer serves that are located in many geographical locations and can store information and can be accessed remotely.

We have also bought the idea to store our personal information using cloud computing as a means of digital loss prevention. Such avenues that are supported by the cloud include Facebook, iCloud and Dropbox. Cloud computing has enabled businesses to do away with the traditional means of data storage such as flash drives, hard disks and floppy drives that are prone to damage and expensive to maintain. Business owners can access company information remotely without having to travel to the company premises physically. All you need to access such data is a mobile device and internet access. In this article, we are going to highlight how cloud computing has affected our lives today.

Health

There are numerous reasons why the use of cloud computing is gaining pace in the healthcare industry. Some of these examples include the management of non-siloed patient information and how to share it with the different stakeholders. These include the patient’s, medical practitioners, and the hospital management as well. Patients can quickly go through their diagnosis, prescription and treatment data and follow up with check-ups. This is critical in the reduction of operational costs such as the storage of data using the conventional means. Both patients and doctors can access such information using pervasive devices such as smartphones and tablets from any geographical location with internet access. Cloud technology has enabled healthcare institutions to create a conducive environment that complies with the regulations that have been set by the Accountability Act and the Health insurance Portability Act.

Smart Homes

The tech giant Google acquired a home automation company known as Nest last year. The company specializes in the manufacturing of Wi-Fi-enabled and self-learning smoke detectors and thermostats. Several months later, Google Nest Labs announced that it was going to acquire Dropcam. Dropcam is a startup that specializes in home-monitoring security cameras that uses cloud computing technology to store its footage. Homeowners with this application can check on the security of their homes from anywhere in the globe at any time of the day or night. In the near future, we are going to have houses and smart homes where everything is connected using cloud technology. Automatic lights and thermostats lead to increased energy efficiency wrapped up with some element of convenience. With such technologies, we are going to have home security systems that arm themselves once the owner has left. Consequently, the appliances in your homes will send updates and send an alert whenever there is any need for maintenance.

Education

Institutions of higher learning have been so fast in the realization of the benefits of cloud computing. As a result, they have engaged in the adoption of this technology for various reasons. With the cloud, students can access information and reading material from any geographical location on the planet at any time. The students will also have the ability to enroll in online degree programs and engage in group discussions virtually. Universities and colleges have also realized the importance of combining business processes to streamline the subscription of online courses, assignments tracking and class enrollments. This is critical in the reduction of educations expenses. These institutions can store vast quantities of data and information that is securely generated on a daily basis without the need to have a sophisticated data storage infrastructure.